


we'll have more happy ever after

by badboy_fangirl



Category: Real Person Fiction, Vampire Diaries RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 11:45:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10661910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badboy_fangirl/pseuds/badboy_fangirl
Summary: Ian Somerhalder is love's bitch, for realz.





	we'll have more happy ever after

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: Every story I wrote about NIan was written between December 2010 and January 2014. These are old and hold no bearing on how things actually were, are, or will be. I know Ian is married now, and I am not trying to be disrespectful. For all these years, I kept these stories locked on LiveJournal and protected, and it just occurred to me that these are just stories, and these are as much characters as any of the other fanfic I've ever written. It also represents a lot of my creative time and energy and I'm proud of these stories. So I'm posting them now, with the intent that others might enjoy them.

Ian Somerhalder has always been a bit of a fool for love; it probably had something to do with his formative sexual experiences being with girls who were a few years older than him, and him thinking that those things meant they loved him.  
  
He was fourteen; it was an honest mistake.  
  
But even as his notions about love and sex were dispelled and he started to understand the two could be very mutually inexclusive, for him, most often, they were not. He tended to fall fast and hard, and then everything in his life became about the girl. ( _The Girl,_  as in _thee_ , like he was some crazy British guy who didn't know the way to say 'the.') Whomever she was; though it was true he'd had a type there for a while, leggy blondes who either could be or were models, sometime or full-time actresses, and more often than not someone he met on a job.  
  
He was predictable. At least to his mother.  
  
But then in 2009, he shot a Pilot for The CW and met a little girl named Nina Dobrev. She wasn't blonde, but she did have legs from here to eternity, and she would soon become the most important person in his life.  
  
Because, this one?  _The Girl_. (Really. This time he means it.)  
  
It's just as they've finished the table read for the first episode of season three of  _The Vampire Diaries_  that Nina, his girlfriend of almost fifteen months, says, "Hey, guys, you know what we should do?"  
  
While the whole cast isn't there because a couple of the characters don't appear in the season premiere, the majority is, and everyone pauses to look at her. "We should all go in together and rent a house out at the lake! That way when any of us has a day off, we can find an escape from the heat. Whattaya say?"  
  
After a chorus of  _Great idea! Totally! We should do that!_ , Nina looks over at him and smiles. She puts her hand on his forearm and rubs it before patting him gently. "It was Ian's idea," she adds, and then turns back to their castmates to get everyone's idea about how much money they're willing to put down.  
  
Ian stretches back in his chair and watches her, feeling slightly sucker punched. He had suggested a week or so before that they should get a house by the lake, because the idea of returning to Hotlanta was something they both dreaded, not because of work, but because of the danger of heat exhaustion. However, when he suggested it, he had meant that  _they_  should rent a house together, as in  _Ian and Nina_.  
  
He wonders if she really misunderstood him, or if this is her way of showing him that she's not ready for that step.  
  
  
  
  
  
The hiatus had been super busy; he'd been all over the globe, sometimes with Nina, sometimes without, and though he'd been on a "working vacation," it had, in some ways, been a relief to come back to Georgia and get back into the pattern of life there. He loves doing promotion and work in relation to the Foundation, and really if he didn't love the craft of acting so much, he'd be tempted to chuck it all and just do conservation work full-time.  
  
But he had signed his soul over to The CW for seven years, and he loves playing Damon, so he is forced to divvy up his great loves and devote portions of his life and time to them. Fortunately for him he works with his girlfriend, so that solves one issue. Long distance relationships suck (and don't really work, in his experience), so it is very convenient that he fell in love with a girl he sees nine months of the year without even trying.  
  
On the other hand, they are always together, which often spells doom for his relationships.  
  
Except, not so much with this one. They've had the conversation more than once about how being friends first for so many months had established something foundational that made the rest of it better. Nina was his lover, of course, but she was also his very best friend; the one he told everything to and the one he wanted to tell first when something important happened.  
  
And generally speaking, she felt that way back towards him. Of course she still had her girlfriends (Kayla, Candice, and Kat probably knew everything about him; this is something he just accepts because girls are girls), but they were tight as a couple. It's without a doubt the best relationship he's ever been in. They were deeply involved with each other. Like, she helped him write his testimony for Congress and she bought the sweet yellow tie that he wore to speak on Capitol Hill. "Green is too obvious," she said, her eyes flashing. "Yellow is the color of peace, yellow is the color of calm. Yellow is the color of habitat restoration." She had given it to him  _Pretty Woman_  style, totally naked on his bed except for the tie around her throat. It had been a particularly spectacular night before an early morning run to the airport the next day.  
  
His dilemma (and yes, he actually has one in the midst of all his  _great relationship_  stuff) is that he is now 32, coming up on 33. He's not getting any younger, and he's starting to think about things like marriage and kids and all that (much to his mother's relief, because in her opinion, it is the duty of each of her children to give her grandchildren). He's pretty much been thinking since they officially got together that Nina's the one. She's the one he wants all that with, but she's also ten years younger than him, so it's not like her biological clock is ticking yet. And their careers are really hot right now, and they won't do anything to jeopardize their work situations.  
  
And he doesn't want to; he just wants some kind of promise. He wants an agreement between them.   
  
He wants to propose.  
  
So, he's got it in his head that a house at the lake would be some kind of perfect, beautiful location to do it. They would have a place, and he could plan it for some night when he was going to get off work a little earlier than her, etc., etc.  
  
Except now, all of them will be traipsing in and out and if Ian knows anything, he knows he can't tell any of their friends first, because there's no way in hell it wouldn't get back to her. No one can know.  
  
But three days after she suggests it, they're all signing lease papers and pitching in their money, and now they are the proud renters of a four bedroom lake house that they share with Candice, Zach, Paul, Kayla, Kat, Matt and Michael. It will take all of four minutes for Nina to make key copies for Malese, Joseph, and Steven who just hadn't gotten back to her in time to sign the contracts.  
  
She climbs in his lap and wraps her arms around his neck, kissing him noisily for everyone to see. "It's going to be so much fun, huh?"  
  
He just grins and bears it.  
  
  
  
  
  
It's after he buys the ring, that he just can't stand it anymore. He's got to figure out a way to get to the lake house with Nina but no one else, and he's got to do it soon because he's about to burst with wanting to tell someone.  
  
He finally realizes, after puzzling over it for several days, that there is no way he'll pull it off alone, so he finally tells Matt, because Matt's easily his best friend on set that isn't Nina, and he's probably the only one who might be able to keep his mouth shut. He invites Matt into his trailer one day at the end of shooting and shows him the ring.  
  
"Wow," Matt deadpans. "I had no idea you felt this way about me."  
  
Ian rolls his eyes and says, "Fuck you."  
  
"Well, it's probably illegal in Georgia, but okay," and he comes at him, his arms wide like he's trying to embrace Ian. They end up wrestling a little because they're guys and when Matt plants Ian on the sofa, he sits next to him and asks, "When are you gonna do it?"  
  
So Ian explains his problem, the logistics of getting Nina up to the cabin without everyone else whilest not blowing the surprise of it all. "You could just propose in front of everyone," Matt suggests.  
  
Ian shakes his head. "I've thought about it, really, but I know Nina will not want that; and on the outside chance that she says no—well, I'd rather not have an audience for my ultimate moment of humiliation."  
  
"You think she'll say no? Then why ask, if you guys aren't  _there_  yet?"  
  
"We're there," Ian insists. "Or, at least, I'm there, and she needs to know my intentions."  
  
"Could you just, I don't know, have a conversation first?"  
  
"God, man, do you know nothing about women? It's the grand romantic gesture that's the most important part!"  
  
"But what about the humiliation part?" Matt asks, a frown between his brows.  
  
"Ah," Ian waves it off. "I'm willing to take the risk. I really think she'll say yes, but I need the right moment."  
  
"What can I do?"  
  
"Keep everyone away from the lake house on Friday. Without letting them know you're keeping them away."  
  
"Hmmm. What do you suggest?"  
  
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking for your help!"  
  
"Well..." Matt says, thinking for a moment. "I guess I could throw a party at my place and invite everyone but you two?"  
  
"How would that work? No one would believe that."  
  
"Maybe it's a surprise party for you?"  
  
"For what? My not-birthday? Fuck, why is this so hard! I just want to ask a girl to marry me. Why did she have to have us all shack up like we're on  _Peyton Place_?"  
  
"Speak for yourself, man, I've never slept with anyone in this group."  
  
Ian huffs out a breath. "I'm never going to be able to pull this off."  
  
  
  
  
  
Three days later, Matt comes up to him at Craft Services and says in a low voice, "No one's using the cabin this weekend. I casually asked everyone. Friday's clear."  
  
"What?" Ian asks, looking around to see if anyone's close enough to hear them talking.  
  
"Nobody's using it. And you have tomorrow off, right? Tell Nina to come up when she wraps, and you're good to go."   
  
Unable to help himself, Ian puts his plate of food down to hug Matt. He tells himself it's pure excitement balling up in his stomach, and the slightly sick feeling he has is nothing to worry about.  
  
A few minutes later, after Matt has gone off in search of the script supervisor, Nina appears at his side, also getting her lunch. "You have something you want to tell me?" she asks, making him jump in surprise.  
  
He looks around at her and shakes his head in puzzlement; did she actually hear their conversation? "I just saw you hugging Matt," she clarifies. "You guys aren't planning on running off and eloping are you? How serious is this bromance? Should I be jealous?"  
  
Ian finds himself laughing far harder than her words merit, and she gives him a weird look. "You need more sleep, Smolderhalder," she says, smiling at him.  
  
He lets her think he's just punchy; it's the truth, just not for the reason she thinks. Later that night, he tells her the plan for the weekend and she agrees exuberantly to joining him when she finishes work.   
  
  
  
  
  
He's expecting her within the half-hour. He's got the place lit up with candles, soft music is playing (her favorite classical stuff: _Somewhere in Time_ ), and there is plenty of food ready to be served, once he's asked the question. He debated for a while, but eventually came to the conclusion that he should just ask her as soon as she arrived so that he could enjoy the rest of the evening; otherwise she'd just be asking him what's wrong with him all night.  
  
Because he's antsier than a crack addict in withdrawal.  
  
Nervous does not even begin to cover the definition of his anxiety.  _Anxiety_  isn't a sufficient word either.  
  
( _In need of a strait-jacket_  might be the only thing that readily comes to mind.)  
  
He's wearing a blue-gray Henley and a pair of black jeans, his normal attire, but the ring is in a velvet covered box in his front pocket. He's going to meet her at the door, kiss her lips gently, pull her inside the house and kneel down as soon as the outside world is shut out. He has a speech all prepared that he hasn't practiced too much because he wants it to sound sincere (because it  _is_  sincere). Then they can eat the meal he's prepared and make love all night, or eat after they've had one round, which is probably what will happen. He's prepared either way.  
  
He hears her car pull up and he runs to grab the bottle of wine from the fridge. That was the one thing he'd forgotten to have close at hand in all his food preparation, so there's not time to uncork it; that will have to wait until after the question has been popped.  
  
The sound of her laughter reaches him first as she's opening the door and he moves over to whisk her into his arms when he hears another voice ask, "What happened after that?"  
  
Nina's head appears around the edge of the door, but she's looking back at someone. "Well, we all realized we wouldn't really get to say much and—" She turns her head and sees him, and a huge smile breaks over her face. "Hey, babe," she says, "I brought you a present!"  
  
She pushes the door all the way open to show their friends Dawn and Bryn coming in right behind her. Dawn, of course, has been around due to Andie Star being back in Damon's life, but his friend Bryn, who is also Dawn's boyfriend, must have flown in special for the weekend.  
  
_Great._  
  
Normally, he'd be thrilled to see his old pal and hear all about the work he's been doing in Haiti, and whatever his next upcoming film projects are, but this is not the night for that.  
  
He barely restrains a exhalation of  _fuck_  from leaving his mouth. Of course, Matt would not have thought to check in with Dawn—she'd only been shooting earlier in the week and they probably never even crossed paths. Not that that matters too much; it was Nina who invited them, it's not like Dawn had a part in the time share.  
  
He can feel the rigidity of the smile he pastes on his face as he hugs both Dawn and Bryn, and it's Dawn who says, "Uh-oh. I think we interrupted a romantic dinner for two!"  
  
He grimaces at her sympathetically, and then feels Nina's hand at the small of his back. "Ooooh," she says in quiet voice, as if she too just noticed all the candles and heard the music in the background. "I'm sorry, babe. But don't worry about it, you guys, he always cooks way more food than the two of us can eat, so there will be plenty. We have lots of other weekends for romantic getaways." Her hand rubs up and down on his back, and she adds, "Right, Ian?"  
  
"Right! Totally, yeah!" he says, and he sees the odd expression that crosses Bryn's face at his over-enthusiastic response. "Come on in! Bryn, why don't you open the wine, and I'll get everything ready in the kitchen."  
  
He heads in there, listening while Nina finds the corkscrew for Bryn (the house came fully equipped as a vacation habitat for tourists), and while he wants to beat his head against the wall, he just scoops up the Chicken Parmesan and asparagus and lays it decoratively in a dish. He takes a moment to breathe deeply, like he's doing Yoga, and when he feels ready to endure the disappointment of the evening, he picks up the platter. Before he can walk out with it, however, Nina comes into the kitchen.  
  
She puts one hand on his arm so he sets the dish back down and the other touches his cheek gently. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea you had something planned—next time give me a hint, okay?"  
  
He shakes his head, trying to make her believe it's not a big deal, but then she slips her arms around his neck and pulls him close. She rubs her lips over his. "So, so, so sorry," she whispers and then she kisses him deeply, and before he knows what's going on, his hands are clamped over her ass and she's plastered against the front of him.  
  
He's so crazy about her; that's what this all boils down too, how insanely in love with her he is and how much he wants the world to know that she's his. When the kiss ends, she murmurs, "Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me, Smolderhalder?"   
  
He can't help grinning, because while it had been a nice kiss, he isn't exactly sporting wood over it. "Awfully confident, aren't you, Dobrev?"  
  
"No, I'm serious, what's in your pocket?" she asks, and then her hand is there, digging into his hip pocket, and he doesn't have time to keep the trainwreck from happening.   
  
She looks down, and so does he and when she sees what's in her hand, she gasps out loud. Her eyes are big as saucers when she looks back up at him. "Is this what I think it is?" she asks breathlessly.  
  
"Um, no," he says, snatching it from her hand and turning his back to her. Nina, being a younger sister, has had plenty of practice at tackling a larger opponent to get what she wants from them.  
  
"Oh my God, Ian! Yes, it is!" She jumps on his back and stretches her arm over his shoulder for the box as he holds it just beyond her reach. "Let me see it! Let me!" She grunts as she lunges and when she still can't grab it, she resorts to twist-pinching the soft skin on the inside of his arm until he hisses out a curse word.  
  
He throws her off of him; she doesn't quite get her footing and instead lands on her ass on the floor as he drops the ring box. Scrambling like mad across the kitchen floor, she gets to it before he can recover from the pain she inflicted on him. He looks over to see Dawn and Bryn standing in the doorway of the kitchen, matching curious expressions on both their faces. "What's going on in here?" Bryn asks, and then Nina jumps to her feet, holding the box victoriously in her hand.  
  
"Look!" she shouts. "Look!" And then she stops and follows her own advice, flipping open the small box so she can see what's inside.  
  
It's not a grotesquely large diamond, but it's still very beautiful; dainty and a princess cut, which when he'd seen it, it had reminded him in every way of his girlfriend, which is why he'd chosen it. She gasps again, and the hand not holding the ring box snaps up to cover her mouth. When she looks back at him, she's got tears in her eyes and she throws herself against his chest, locking her arms tightly around his neck.  
  
Given her reaction, he's feeling pretty confident when he says into her hair, "Can I ask you a question?"  
  
She nods her head vigorously, and then allows him to disengage. He pushes her back a little so he can get down on one knee, and Dawn gasps, "Holy shit!"  
  
He glances over at their friends and says, "I didn't expect to do this with an audience, but here goes." Looking back at Nina, whose tears have now started to trickle down her cheeks, he reaches for the ring box and grasps her left hand in his right. "Nina Dobrev, I am madly in love with you, as you should already be abundantly aware." She continues nodding and crying, and he finds that all the words he could ever want to say flow from his mouth perfectly. "And while I would like to promise to love you for always, what I can promise you is that I will always do right by you, and I will always respect you, and work hard for us, and as long as it's in my power, I will do everything to nurture and sustain our relationship. If you feel the same way, would you do me the honor of agreeing to marry me?"  
  
She nods again, unable to actually say any words. When he looks at their hands as he removes the ring from the box to put it on her finger, both of them are shaking like they're standing in a fierce wind. He slides the ring on, and tears burn his eyes, too, and he really, really,  _really_  wishes they were alone.  
  
"Get up here so I can kiss you again," Nina says chokingly, and so he stands up and she presses her mouth to his like they are utterly alone, and he decides he just doesn't give a shit.  
  
Moments later, Bryn says, "Well, we suck. Party crashers, extraordinaire, at your service. Seriously, dude? So sorry; and also: now what am I gonna do? This woman is ruined watching that." He points at Dawn, who is also wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.  
  
"It's okay," Ian says when Nina finally lets him come up for air. "It's all good."  
  
Nina pulls him back for another kiss and then she hugs him fiercely. "It's so beautiful; I love it. I love  _you_."  
  
She stretches her arm out to the side and turns her head to admire her hand from afar. He also turns his head and presses his cheek to hers to; he finds that he's getting a little aroused from seeing his ring on her finger, which is weird.  
  
(Or, maybe it's not; who knows. He's never done this before, after all.)  
  
"Don't move," Dawn says. "I need to take a picture of you guys just like this. And then, I swear we're leaving so you can celebrate!"  
  
Nina giggles and Bryn just shakes his head. "Ruined it, man, ruined it for me, forever. Thanks a lot."  
  
Ian can't even pretend to care, so he just smirks at his friend and holds his position until Dawn returns with her digital camera. Then he feeds them dinner before he insists that they leave so he can make love to his fiancée.

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes: This is nothing more than a self-indulgent fantasy. Judge it as such. Title lifted from the Dixie Chicks' song "I Hope."


End file.
